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EDWARDSVILLE - Jakob Doyle scored a hat trick, while Connor Kelley, John Matthews, Cooper Nolan and Brennan Weller all found the back of the net as Edwardsville advanced in its postseason opener in a 7-0 win over Granite City in the IHSA Class 3A regional semifinal Wednesday afternoon at Tiger Stadium.
The Tigers were coming off a 10-day layoff following their season finale, a goalless draw against CBC, and had the far better of the play throughout, not allowing a Warrior shot until late in the match.
"I think we were patient, initially," said Edwardsville head coach Mark Heiderscheid, "and so, I think that eventually reaped dividends. I think it was just a matter of just finding the right ball. I think the first one, we were a little fortunate when we have one that was a little bit different, in that we just knocked it, Cooper gets to it, and he knocks it in. But then afterward, we were able to really get a lot of things around the corners, and then knock in some good services, and then, we had guys that finished it when they needed to."
Doyle's hat trick was a big key to the game, scoring his last two goals from right in front when he was unmarked in front of goal.
"He's been getting some goals here, I think, this back half of the season," Heiderscheid said. "That's been awesome. I think he's a guy that's just done such a good job; in club ball, it's taken him some time, but whether it's been air balls, whether its been sitting out there as a poacher in the back post, he's just a guy that's very energetic, he's very eager, he's a class soccer player, and I think at this point, he's just very hungry to get the job done. And so, it's really kudos to him that he finishes as many goals on this as he did, and puts the game away."
All in all, it was a very good team win for the Tigers.
"Yeah, I think, again, it's absolutely team effort on this," Heiderscheid said. "The backfield really limited most opportunities, and I thought the holding (midfielders) does a great job, I thought our attacking (midfielders) really worked the ball very, very well, the wides provide a lot of service, without a doubt, our strikers were dangerous. And so, if you look from all over the field, including our guys we put in were pretty dangerous, and I thought that guys like Tony (Agwuedu), like J.T. (Watson) provided great pace out there. I thought (Andrew) Mills coming off there, because he's a guy that's always in for the majority of the game as well, did a great job as an attacking midfielder, or holding mid, wherever he went. And so, I thought it was good, again, the three backs between Jack (Heiderscheid), and Kadin (Lieberman), and Parker (Matthews) just always do a yeoman's job, and the keepers (Tyler Frolik and Gabe Noll) did what they were supposed to do."
The Tigers dominated the possession for the opening 10 minutes, getting a pair of good chances from corners, but Warrior goalie Tyler Theis was there to make the stops. In the 15th minute, a Warrior long ball resulted in a chance off a throw-in, but the Tiger defense was there to clear the opportunity. Meanwhile, in the 22nd minute, Nolan had a glorious opportunity, but his shot went barely past the post to keep things scoreless.
He needn't had worried, for in the 23rd minute, Watson put a ball into the box that Nolan was there to head the ball over Theis and into the net to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Both teams had some good chances later on, but were turned away. In the 35th minute, Theis robbed Doyle on a great shot that Theis dove to his left to make the save on, keeping it 1-0. One minute later, Weller had a shot that was nicely kicked out by Theis, and the ensuing corner was knocked away.
In the 37th minute, Kurt Wright passed a ball on the left side to Doyle, who slotted it in past Theis to make it 2-0, which is where the score stood at halftime.
Edwardsville dominated the first five minutes of the second half, keeping the ball on the Granite end of the pitch most of the way. The pressure paid off in the 47th minute, when Nolan put a shot on net that Theis was able to turn away, but the rebound went right to an unmarked Weller in front of goal, who tapped it home to make the score 3-0. Two minutes later, Doyle got his second when he was left unmarked in front, got a good pass from Logan Loftus and slotted it home to make the score 4-0 for Edwardsville.
Doyle completed his hat trick in the 53rd minute when he got a loose ball from a great flick-on header from Nolan and fired it home to give the Tigers a 5-0 lead. The Warriors had their first good opportunity of the half in the 58th minute off of a corner, but Ayoba Francis, Granite's leading scorer, shot wide.
The Tigers made it 6-0 in the 68th minute when Kelley took a good through ball from Watson and shot it home into the back of the net. In the 73rd minute, the Warriors had perhaps their best chance when Judah Black was left unmarked at the top of the box, but Noll dived to his left to make the save, preserving the Tigers' clean sheet.
The final goal came in the 78th minute when John Matthews took a great pass from Agwuedu, broke in alone and scored to make the final score of 7-0.
The Warriors end their season 6-13-2, while the Tigers are now 17-4-1, and advance to Friday's regional final at home against Alton, a 2-1 winner over Quincy. Before the second semifinal was played, Heiderscheid felt either the Redbirds or Blue Devils would give Edwardsville a solid challenge.
"Well, that's going to be extraordinarily tough," Heiderscheid said. "Alton's played us twice, they played us tough each time. (Braden) Schrimpf's a great player, (Jake) Lombardi a great player, (Brayden) Decker a great player, so they've got (Hayden) Batchelor, a great player. So they've got some great kids; there's been some ups and downs this year, but they're a physical team that can really knock around the ball. I think Quincy is, to be honest with you, completely underseeded in a way. I think they're just, every year, they come in, and they're just a very talented team. And so, for us to have them as a fourth seed in our regional, given our one, it was 'yeah, didn't really want that,' " Heiderscheid said with a smile.
"But you know what? Honestly, it is what it is, and so, either way, there just aren't easy games at this juncture. Of course, when you go back to the 80s or 90s, when you have an easy game, sometimes in the regional or sometimes, even in the sectional, there might be a team which is a small school, well, it's not that difficult, you win, you advance. But those days are gone, and so, now, we're at the fact that a program like Quincy, who's been one of the best in the state for many years. So yeah, it'll be a tough test but it is really, I think throughout, at this point, every once in awhile, we hit a sectional final or a super, sometimes you get a game where all of a sudden, you feel we're definitely the top seed at that point. But, most games at this point are going to be a challenge.
"It's nice to go ahead and get the first game done and over with," Heiderscheid added with a laugh, "so you can just kind of plan, and get to the next game."Dan Brannan also contributed to this story.
